Glass defrosting tray for mechanical refrigerators



June 27, 1933. A, c. cRlMMEL ET AL GLASS DEFROSTING TRAY FOR MECHANICAL REFRIGERATORS Filed June 11, 1951 ATTORNEY5.

Patented .lune 27, 1933 narran lle? l .PiIVE C. CRTIHEL AND HENRY ClfTffTEL, 0F HARTFORD! CLTY, INDIANA., ASSIGN- RS T0 SNEATH CNIANY, 0?." HlTEl-D CITY, NDBAN, A GORPEATION `GLASS DEFROSTNG EGR MCHANCAL BEERIGERATORS application filed Jur-.e 1l,

This invention relates to a tray construction for mechanical refrigerators.

The chief objectof this construction is to Lprovide tray means for positioniu between that it is comprised of a plurality of trays,

Yeach substantially identical andl complementarily formed on opposite sides for overlapping when positioned side by side so that leakage between trays is prevented.

The chief feature of the invention consists in forming` each tray with rim means on a plurality of sides and omitting,` said rim means on at least one side so that vwhen two trays are positioned sidey by side, the riin means of one tray overlaps theriinless side of the other tray so that drippage which normally passesbetween the trays will the rim and be collected in the tray including the overhanging rim. K

Another feature of the invention consists in the particular termination of the rim adjacent the rimless side, whereby the collection. of liquid in the tray may be readily discharged, said connection being' in the nature of a drain spout or lip. y A further feature of the invention consists in formingv the trays so that anyone of the same when positioned side by side can be removed without interference from the adjacent tray or trays.

A further feature of the invention consists in the provision on the tray bottom of a plu ality of spaced and parallel ribs extending; from one side toward an opposite side and terminating short of both sides, so that in tilting the tray for drainage, there will not be any retained because there are no pockets in the bottom of the tray, and when horizontally positioned, said ribs permit of the cir- ;culation of cool air alongy the inner sides of the walls of the tray and thence below the articles placed upon the ribs, the upper surface of the articles, of course, being freely exposed to the air.

'l The full nature of the invention will be 1931. Serial lle. 543,642.

understood from the accompanying drawing and the following` claims ln the' drawing, Fig'. 1 is an elevational view of a mechanical refrigerator of conventional type, showing` f a pair of trays positioned beneath the condenser in drip collecting or defrosting relation.

Fig. 2 is atop plan view of one of the iden-k tical trays.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken in a plane transverse to the ribs,

ln the drawing, 10 indicates generally a mechanical refrigerator, the refrigeiating,` compartment hemp; indicated by the numeral ll and including various shelves and supports 12, access to the compartment being had through the door 13. Positioned in the refrigerator is the usual condenser, or cooling coil, 1e and positioned therebeneath in the present invention, there is illustrated two trays, said trays being' shown in detail in 2, 3 and l.

ln said figures, 15 indicates thc bottoni and the bottoni, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and Ll, is slightly elevated from the footing or. lower rim portion 16. Extending upwardly from the bottom portion and integral with the bottoni, are the side wallsl. Herein the tray is shown rectangular and the side walls are inclined downwardly and inwardly so that they drain toward the bottom.

Each side in the present invention, except one, is provided with an upper rim 18 and the same extends downwardly an appreciable distance from the side wall 17. One side, as illustrated, is not provided with a rim and the adjacent terminating ends, as'indicated at 19, of said rim, are cut away and this portion 19 serves as a lip for pouring purposes when the tray is to be emptied. The rim 18 is arranged to overlap the rimless side terminating in the top edge 20.

The upper surface of the bottom 15 is provided with a plurality of spaced and parallel ribs 21 which terminate short of the opposite end walls so that there is a free area 22 at each end wherebyall of the drippage collected within the tray can be poured from either lip 19. This arrangement also permits the air to circulate around the bottom and between the ribs 2l, and, therefore, around and beneath any articles placed in this semifreezing area of thev refrigerator When the tray is positioned as shown in Fig. 1.

These trays are preferably made of glass,

' since that is the cheapest vitreous product available `and with this arrangement, relatively large areas may be accompanied by a plurality of trays. A glass tray the equivalent of the total area to be accommodated Would be very expensive and would undoubtedly be Warped, if it were not of heavy stock.

To permit the housewife to readily remove and empty the tray, the Weight thereof must be relatively small and, therefore, thefmultiple unit arrangement provides relatively light individual trays that may be Vmade of glass, will not Warp and may be overlapped to function as a single tray for the relatively large area to be provided for. v

The invention claimed is 1. In combination a plurality of substantially identical and independent trays, each of quadrilateral outline and having a bottom at an appreciable depth below the top of the i sides land adapted for interchangeable sideby-side positioning, prevention of leakage therebetween when so positioned and ari ranged for independent side-by-side sliding movement, each tray including an overhanging rim at the top of one side and a substantially rimless upper edge upon the opposite side, the rim being positioned at an elevation above the top of the rimless side whereby c, when overlapping a rimless side of an adjacent tray leakage between the sides is prevented and any tray may be slid longitudinally in direction of the sides Without inter-- ference from or disturbance to the adjacent tra 2).7 A substantially quadrilaterally outlined tray including a rimless side, rim means upon all of the remaining sides and a bottom at an appreciable depth below the top of all of said sides, the rimless side and one of the remaining sides having the same general direction, the rim means adjacent" the rimless side being relieved for clearance purposes permitting the tray when positioned adjacent another and with the rim means overlapping the rimless side of the other to cooperate therewith to prevent leakage beltween adjacent sides of adjacent trays and permitting sliding separation of the tray from the adjacent tray and in the same gcneral direction. f

3.V A tray including a rimless side and rim means upon all of the remaining sides, thev rimless side and one of the remaining sides having the same general direction, theY rim 

